Alt Reality: Year One

It’s been nearly one year since the 45th President of the United States took office. I remember watching late-night comics and Saturday Night Live make jokes about the possible lunacy that could ensue. Even that didn’t prepare me for what 45 has actually done, although I must say SNL is still a source of much-needed sanity for me. Sometimes I wonder if, one day, TV shows like that will be outlawed. That may sound extreme, crazy even, but is it really?

If you look at everything that has happened collectively – which is a soul-crushing undertaking, I know – it doesn’t seem unrealistic that, if allowed, 45 could outlaw free speech in many forms. He is already trying to silence science. He has been attacking the press since he began his campaign. One of the first things Adolf Hitler did was discredit mainstream media so he could control what the general public knew. That is kind of what is happening right now, in 2017, in America. For someone who constantly bashes North Korea’s leadership, 45 seems to want to emulate the control Kim Jong-un has over his citizens.

Have we become so self-involved and complacent that we will allow 45 to tear away at the very fabric of our society? It seems so very clear that he is 100% self-serving, unscrupulous and dishonest that I am baffled that he is still POTUS. It seems as if any one of several things could be grounds for him to be impeached. This last year, sexual misconduct has ruled the headlines, with prominent people in positions of power in all industries being fired for accusations – mere accusations. We have all heard countless things come out of 45’s very own mouth with our own ears, things like him talking about grabbing women by their genitals and countless derogatory and demeaning comments he’s made to women publicly, yet he still sits in the Oval Office. Where did all the outrage over Clinton’s tryst with Lewinsky go? We were ready to hang Bill by his boots, and 45 has done so much worse. Sometimes I feel like I am legitimately losing my mind.

I used to believe that there was a finite amount of change that one President could actually make, that there was a system of checks-and-balances to make sure nothing too crazy happened. Now I wonder. He has successfully made millions of people think that reputable, accredited news sources are “fake news,” he condoned and even suggested violence more than once during his campaign, he has infiltrated D.C. with his cronies, he has made statements both in person and on Twitter that have literally caused riots and deaths, he is actively trying to discredit science and is dismantling protected areas so industries can profit, his demeanor and speech have made the United States the joke of the world and he is seriously damaging our reputation as a world leader. All of this doesn’t even touch on his misogynistic and racist tendencies – of which there are plenty that have been well-documented.

When the election results came in last November, I tried t comfort myself by telling myself that there is only so much damage one man can do. And that may still be true, but I seriously underestimated the damage that could be done when a megalomaniac, narcissistic, racist, greed-monger is allowed to rule a country. Whether he serves his full term or is ousted from office, the divisive tenor 45 is creating will last long after he leaves the White House.